As we’ve talked about on our podcast and in editorial, there have been a lot of games that just didn’t live up to their billing. Nowhere was this more apparent than when we started talking about our Game of the Year.

When we all got together to try and select Game Front’s Game of the year for 2013, it turned out that there was very little consensus. Everyone liked something different. It quickly became apparent that selecting a clear-cut winner wasn’t going to happen. We were going to have to do something a bit different this year.

Accordingly, we are happy to present the following list. Each Game Front staffer who participated offers up their top 5 games of 2013, with a little bit about why. We hope you enjoy the list, and we’d love to hear what your top 5 games were. Just drop yours in the comments!

Picking a GOTY winner this year was difficult, mostly because there was no title stood head and shoulders above the rest. However, the one game that was closest to that for me was Metro: Last Light. Not only was it fun, it was memorable, which is more than I can say for most of the games I played this year. Returning to the subway tunnels below Moscow reminded me that Metro’s world isn’t one of hopeful optimism. Not, those tunnels are a place for grim survivors, those who cling to life because that’s what you should do. The sense of hopelessness and inevitability that was embodied in Metro: Last Light made it my choice for the best of 2013.

As to the rest, Saints Row 4 was an admirable successor to SR3, and its use of licensed music was genius. Tomb Raider reinvigorated a series that was badly in need of it, and also humanized Lara Croft along the way. Payday 2 takes all the fun that is 4-player co-op heists and turns it up to 11, although I’m still on the fence about the recent addition of hand grenades. Finally, Outlast is a terrifying take on the Amnesia formula of the powerless protagonist that actually manages to do it better than the games that seem to have inspired it.

2013 might not have been the best year ever in video games, but these five games were the highlights for me.

In the latest episode of James vs. Games, James tackles Volgarr the Viking.

The challenge? Beat level 1 of Volgarr the Viking within 30 minutes.

The punishment if he fails? The loss of the coveted Bullet Pen.

Mitch tells me that this episode actually had to be filmed twice, due to the audio being lost on the first play through. He also says that the last challenge, Spelunky Redemption, was too easy — but this one makes up for it. “Volgarr is one of the hardest games in recent memory,” he says.